This story at Big Hollywood struck me because of a something similar that happened to me. As the person in question was rather elderly I put it down to generational stuff but was still very taken aback. This guy didn’t have that excuse:
The brother-in-law started, “You people don’t care about the suffering, don’t care about the weak and under-privileged, you don’t give a rat’s ass what happens to them, because to you and your ilk they’re all just a bunch of Tiggers!”
I was shocked. Even more shocked was the black gentleman sitting at the bar who suddenly took a keen interest in the conversation. After all, this is a word so repulsive it can cut through the static of even the noisiest bar. My friends had their backs to him, so it was impossible for them to see they had attracted an audience.
Never being one to avoid a conflict, I feigned ignorance. “They’re just a bunch of what?”
My friend was happy to clarify, “Tiggers. You think they’re Tiggers. You don’t care about them because they’re just all Tiggers.”
Here were two long-time liberals demonstrating to me the privilege of language accorded only to those on the correct side of the aisle. I asked again, “They’re WHAT?”
The husband spoke, “TIGGERS TIGGERS TIGGERS! How plain do I have to say it for you? T-I-double GUH- ER!!!”
At this point the eavesdropping stranger could remain silent no longer, “Uh, excuse me…”
My liberal friends turned around, and I cannot find the words to describe the shade of red their faces took as their bravado sunk under the table. The moment of silence that followed, seemed to last an eternity. The husband broke, “Um, you don’t understand what’s going on here,” he pointed into my chest and indicted, “You see, he’s a REPUBLICAN!”
The gentleman pretended like he wasn’t listening, so when the husband rushed over to apologize, he had to say the word again, right to his face. It was a very embarrassing moment, almost too painful to watch. On the up side, the gentleman ended up getting a free drink out of the deal, as the husband was eager to put it behind him.
What is that old saying? There is truth in Wine. Give a person a few drinks and they will say what they actually think.
Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog 